


The Medic and the Mute

by Ironavenger344



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Complete, Don't hurt my son i'll hurt him myself, Fanart, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, father!soundwave, my beta ignores my summons, my beta is experiencing a 404 error
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:13:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 16,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24327832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironavenger344/pseuds/Ironavenger344
Summary: When Ratchet finds himself trapped within a cave-in with a certain Decepticon Communications Specialist, will he be able to survive? Or is Soundwave not as deadly as he would seem? (TFP)
Relationships: Ratchet & Soundwave (Transformers)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 153
Collections: Movies





	1. Recharge-Deprived Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first updating fic. I welcome suggestions, and all flames will be used to toast marshmallows for Soundwave's cassettes. Enjoy!

Ratchet’s POV:

I groaned as my audials picked up the rumble of Bulkhead’s engine. Of course, the second that I start to work on updating my medical files in this infuriating Earth-computer, the humans just had to be released from school. I could already feel my processor starting to ache. It was beyond my understanding as to why Optimus insisted that we work with the squish-I mean humans. Their fleshy nature and their ability to simply go “squish” made them extremely unattractive, and their lack of technological wit made it that there was simply no hope for them to logically gain my favor. Often, when I saw how comfortable Prime and the other Autobots were around the creatures, I considered giving them a sturdy hit to the helm with a wrench. Maybe that would fix their glitched processors.

I was jolted from my loathing by the sound of feedback from Miko’s guitar. No, dear Primus, anything but the guitar, I begged. Primus seemed to not be listening, or he found my predicament amusing, as Miko struck her hand down the center of her racket-making device. The resulting screech was immediately followed by a souring of each bot’s EM field. Even Bulkhead, who for some reason enjoyed the clashing that Miko called music, flinched back at the sound that cut right through his audials.

“MIKO!” Jack shouted, catching the pink-haired girl’s attention, “Please put it away! It physically hurts my ears!”

I harrumph-ed in agreement. Seemingly dejected, Miko leaned her precious noise-maker against a wall and sulked over to Bulkhead. I threw a look of gratitude to Jack. At least he had some skill silencing the otherwise unruly teen. Now if only he could stop her from sneaking through the groundbridge… 

"Hello Ratchet." I nearly jumped out of my plating as Optimus set his servo on my shoulder.

"Optimus" I grunted in reply. How could a bot so big be so sneaky?

"You really ought to take a break every once in a while, old friend."

"I have work to be doing, Optimus. I dont have the luxury of a long recharge like the rest of you, especially when the humans are here with all their noises and pesky questions!" I immediately felt bad about my remark as I saw Optimus make the slightest move backwards, but I kept my EM field tightly to myself and maintained my angry glare.

"I-" Optimus started, then took a second to reconsider, "I'm sorry. If you ever need anything…"

I nodded, and he gave his gentle yet concerned grin that always made my spark give the tiniest flutter. Slagging Matrix. Always trying to break the resolve I had built over the vorns. I returned my optics to the console and began inputting the data concerning all the repairs that took place after the last battle. My servos flew over the keys, steadily updating each file. Multiple times, Rafael tried to ask questions about Cybertronian biology or what I was working on, but I waved them away.  
I would never admit it, but a small bit of my spark admired the curiosity of the youngest human. It reminded me of my past charge, First Aid. Quiet and peaceful, he studied my every move with compassion and dedication, unfazed even when my temper got the best of me. I missed him. Back at Tyger Pax, when we fled, he was lost somewhere in the battle. He hadn't been offlined at the time, since the other Protectorbots hadn't shown any symptoms of a shattered bond, but nobody had been able to locate him before the Autobots were forced to evacuate Cybertron.

I took another look at Rafael, who was staring at his little laptop computer while Miko and Jack played their racing game on the sofa in the small area that had once been a command deck for the missile silo’s previous occupants. Bumblebee crouched behind them, watching as the miniscule smudges of color swerved across the screen and whirring in excitement. At least the young scout was having fun, and the children were being entertained. I exvented, and returned my optics once again to the screen. I took no notice of Optimus, who stood in a far corner of the common area watching me.

Optimus’s POV:

Even without the Matrix, I could tell that my oldest friend was unhealthy. Despite his habit of enforcing everyone else’s recharge cycles, the red and white bot seemed to be unable to get some recharge himself. The few times I saw him recharging, it was often in an uncomfortable position over the computers that occupied most of his time. And if the lack of recharge wasn’t enough, I often caught Ratchet staring off into space with a tortured look in his optics.

The thing that scared me the most, however, was the way the Matrix of Leadership reacted to him. I could feel it reaching out to try and help Ratchet, similar to the way it reached out to the mechs I had met over the vorns that had been either mentally unstable or too battle-scarred to properly function anymore. If the Matrix was reacting similarly to him, did that mean that Ratchet was more distressed than he appeared? And if that was the case, what would make him tip over the edge?

I could only contemplate this for a moment before the base alarms went off. I looked over at Ratchet, waiting for him to discover the cause of the sounds.

“It’s Starscream.”

If I could see what would happen in the following cycles, I may not have reacted as relieved as I did in that moment.


	2. Not As It Would Seem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks so much! I was elated to see so many people excited about my story. Honestly, I just expected to post it and watch it flop. Additionally, I apologize if there are any errors. I am visiting family and their puppy constantly demanded my attention (plus I was rushing to get this out on Friday). I have found it to be difficult to type with one hand and pet a puppy arms length away with the other. Anyway, in case it wasn’t obvious, I don’t own Transformers. Enjoy the story, and I will try to make the next chapter longer!

Ratchet’s POV:

I almost immediately recognized the glyph of Starscream on the message that had been sent to the base.

“It’s Starscream,” I said, turning to look at Optimus, who had emerged from the shadows.

“What does he want?” Arcee asked, snarling. She still hated Starscream for what he had done to Cliffjumper.

“He is asking for medical assistance, again. The fragger says he has information to trade for his care, as always. I’ll go take care of it. He had better not take too many of our supplies.” I grabbed my medical pack and put it in subspace, then turned back to the computer to input the coordinates into the groundbridge.

“Are you sure it is wise for you to go alone?” Optimus asked, concern lacing his voice.

“Optimus. I will be fine. Starscream has been continuously low on Energon and weak since he left the Nemesis 2 months ago. I may not be in the field often, but I can handle myself.” I scoffed.

In the Academy, I had not only been trained as a medic, but had also gotten my fair share of combat training. Although the war had not yet begun, medics were still trained to overpower unruly patients if necessary. In addition, I had been trained throughout the war, learning hand-to-hand combat and even being trained as a sniper, even though the recoil hurt my sensitive servos. Most of this training had happened while I had known Optimus, but I didn’t think that anybot else in Team Prime was aware of just how deadly I could be.

I pulled the lever, activating the groundbridge and turning towards the green swirling vortex. I tried to ignore the concern practically flooding from Optimus’ frame and walked out to what appeared to be a rocky clearing. Starscream sat next to an indent in what appeared to be a cliffside, energon pooled around his frame. The groundbridge closing caught the lone seeker’s attention, and his slightly dulled optics met mine.

Immediately, I noticed that the energon around him was unprocessed, which made me wonder just what kind of injury Starscream had gotten to damage his system before his primary energon converter. Whatever it was had to be substantial if there was as much energon around him as there seemed to be. I knelt down next to the already-complaining seeker and began cleaning energon from his frame.

Soundwave’s POV:

I watched from the top of the cliff, scowling behind my visor. Laserbeak quietly chirred against my chest, excited to please me and Megatron by gathering new information on Starscream. I had intercepted the comm from Starscream, asking for help from the Autobot medic, designation Ratchet. Normally, I would have sent Laserbeak alone, but I had calculated that this would be a logical time to apprehend the medic and bring him to the Nemesis to help us create the Synthetic Energon formula. One of Laserbeak’s previous reconnaissance missions had revealed that Ratchet was mildly obsessed with completing the alternate source of fuel, and I had decided that using his knowledge would be beneficial to the Decepticon cause. Megatron had agreed with my logic.

As I watched, I noticed as Ratchet approached the traitor and began cleaning the energon from the seeker. Although I was not a medic, I was fairly certain that the energon that Starscream was losing was not processed, which was usually a very dangerous injury. I continued watching, wondering in interest as Ratchet suddenly stood up and backed away from Starscream as if he had been burned. Sending Laserbeak to observe seemed logical, so I informed him of my plan and sent him down to observe.

Ratchet’s POV:

As I started cleaning away energon, I ran a scan over Starscream to see where he had slashed lines. However, I was startled by the result. I ran the scan again, and even a third time, checking my scanner on myself and deciding that it was still working. So the question was, why didn’t Starscream have any injuries?


	3. Lights, Camera... Starscream?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I seem to be addicted to waiting until the last minute to write these chapters. Somebody send help please. And- Primus, I offered you a longer chapter didn’t I… oh no. AGH. Well... I still don’t own Transformers.

Ratchet’s POV:

Shocked by the discovery that Starscream was unharmed, I staggered backwards. Why would he have gone to the effort of covering himself in the precious fuel that he had been struggling to obtain for so many earth cycles? My processor stalled the slightest bit, confused as to what logic there was behind Starscream’s summoning. I was roused from my musings by the slagger himself, who stood up and fired one of his arm-mounted rockets at me. I tried to muffle my shout of pain as I was flung backwards into a pile of debris. I forcibly shunted the thought process of Starscream’s trick to one of my backup processors, and brought my battle systems online. Writing up blocks to silence the alarms from my damaged systems, I shakily rose to my pedes once again.

“What’s the matter, Autobot? Can’t shake off a simple missile?” Starscream sneered, slowly approaching me.

“It will take a lot more than that to take me down, Starscream!” Geez, what is with mechs and their instinct to underestimate me?

“Good think I came prepared then, isn’t it, old medic!” He cackled and raised up a new missile.

Frantically, I ran scenarios through my battle computer. If I took another hit, not even my thickened battle-grade armor would hold. Alternatively, if I I tried to move to escape the blast, there was a less than 10% probability that I would be able to move myself outside of the blast radius unharmed. The only other options were to shoot Starscream, or to plead for my survival. I was not interested in pleading for escape from the ex-Con, so I sighed and transformed out my sniper rifle. It still shined like new in the Earthen sun, and the blue energon pulse powered up inside of the barrel. I raised my arm, aimed, and-

“AgGHHH!” I yelled, unable to hold my cry as Starcream shot me with a blast of his own.

It was not one of his missiles, but the lone blast from his arm cannon had been enough to cripple my systems even further. I crashed to my knees, then my side. A gaping hole had appeared in my femoral structure, and energon poured onto the rocky ground. My optics flickered, but I managed to keep them on to glare at my attacker. I tried to send a signal to the Autobots, but found the signal to be blocked. My processor whirled, switching between pain, terror, and anger.

“Well well well, it would appear that I have caught myself an Autobot! Lord Megatron would be impressed… if I were still loyal to him. As it is, I suppose I will have to be satisfied with impressing myself. So tell me, Autobot… how does it feel?” With those words, Starscream closed the final distance between us and jabbed his pede into my destroyed femoral struts.

“Agh-ah- never… better…” I ground out, refusing to give in. “So why in the name of Primus did you attack me? Obviously, you will never be able to impress old Buckethead., especially not with my sorry aft.”

“The genius of my plan is unparalleled, you fool. You see, without a medic, then the Autobots will slowly begin to offline from even the simplest battle injuries. Then, Megatron can come and over power the Autobots, win the war, and I will finally be free to live my own life again, away from his fraggin’ highness, and all of you Autobot fools.”

“You do realize’” I grunted’” that Megatron will have no reason to keep you alive after the war, right? Wouldn’t you be offlined too?” I tried to appeal to logic. Starscream had once been a scientist; I just had to hope that some of that logic was still buried somewhere

“If I die, at least I will be able to say that I offlined the famous Ratchet!” With a triumphant yell, Starscream stomped down on my chassis, and the warnings finally overwhelmed me.

Soundwave’s POV:

“Laserbeak, report.”

I could no longer see Ratchet, nor Starscream, but I could still locate their signals behind the mass of rocks. As Laserbeak docked, I began getting information about what he had discovered. Behind the constant emotions of love-loyalty-joy I could sense some mild fear-danger-concern. Laserbeak sent me video files of what he had seen and the condition of Ratchet. I knew that, if I was to retrieve a living Autobot medic, I had to act quickly.

I transformed and flew down to where Ratchet and Starscream’s signals originated from. My engines, silent as ever, launched me into the middle of what could only be called a set-up. Ratchet’s body had been moved to where Starscream had originally been seated, and his processed energon mixed with the unprocessed liquid on the ground. I knew that, if Ratchet wasn’t already offline, he would be soon. I calculated that, if I could get between the psychotic seeker and the injured medic, I would be able to save the medic’s existence long enough to bridge him back to the Nemesis.

I landed between the two Cybertronians, flaring my armor and ejecting Laserbeak to frighten off the enraged seeker. Starscream’s wings lowered slightly, and if I had not studied wingspeak, I may not have noticed that he was intimidated. Almost immediately, he forced his wings back up into the dominant position. I stood my ground.

“Starscream: Release the prisoner.” I demanded.

“Oh, look who has come to join the fun. Of course, go take your prize.” Starscream stepped back from the battered mech, turning his back and slowly walking away.

I recalled Laserbeak and stepped toward the puddle of medic on the ground. Kneeling down to the medic, I could hear his vents wheezing and the gurgling of air in coolant lines. Before I could comm the Nemesis, I heard a pebble being knocked aside behind me. I spun around to see Starscream’s snarling smile.

“I hope it is worth the pain for your precious prize!”

All I could do is raise my arms as he fired a rocket, as the cliffside crumbled and collapsed on me and Ratchet, and knocked me offline.


	4. Energon and Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Woohoo, I said I would write on the plane and here I am. I guess we should get onto the thing you are all here for: medic vs communication specialist! Warning: this chapter may be a little bit graphic (in terms of energon and Transformers injuries). It shouldn’t be too bad, but I figured it would be worth noting anyway. With that, allow me to remind you that I do not own Transformers. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Laserbeak’s POV:

I whirred in pain as the rocks crumbled down on top of Soundwave and I. I got a glimpse of Starscream’s retreating form before everything became dark. There was no room for sunlight between the tightly-packed Earth rock. I was unable to hold in a chirped cry as one of the sharper rocks settled down and pierced my wing. Docked as I was, I couldn’t turn to see the injury. Nonetheless, I could feel my energon dripping down my chassis and onto Soundwave.

Reminded of my carrier, I turned my attention to Soundwave. His processor was still whirling, even though his body was offline. I pinged him for his attention through our bond.

Boss? Are you functional? I pulsed concern-love-safety to him.

Affirmative. Report: Status. Even though Soundwave was using his base speech pattern, I could still sense the return of emotions from my carrier.

A rock punctured my right wing. I cannot fly until it is repaired. Energon is slowly leaking from the wound, but I have rerouted my energon around it as best I can to stem the flow.

Understood. Soundwave sent a small warning pulse to me so that I wouldn’t be startled by any sudden motion, then onlined. His movements were limited, but as he moved, I could see that there was a small cave surrounding our forms.

Soundwave deployed me, and I was gently caught in his servos. He cautiously touched my wing. I let out a chirr of pain that stopped him from probing further. I watched as he set me aside, and then his visor dimmed as he ran a systems scan. I patiently waited. Although I truly wanted to transform into my bird-like alt mode, I knew that the transformation could cause even more damage to my already-injured wing. Soundwave’s visor brightened again, and he turned to survey the situation. At his sudden burst of surprise across the bond, I turned to see what had alarmed him. On the ground not far from us, Ratchet was laying in a puddle of energon, with his optics flickering.

Ratchet’s POV:

I onlined to an entire display of error messages and a wall of solid pain. My shattered leg screamed for attention, and my damaged chassis sent error upon error to my processor. I silenced each one, fighting to boot up my optics. Each time I got close, a low energon or overloading pain receptor warning would interrupt my line of code. After what I estimated to be 20 kliks, I managed to overpower my self-repair system and onlined my optics. I was not prepared for the purple visor that stared back at me. I jerked back, then hissed at the onslaught of even more pain. Soundwave continued cooly staring at me despite my obvious terror.

“Aren’t you... just going to... kill me already?” I ground out haltingly, my vocalizer staticky.

“Negative. Autobot Ratchet: imperative.” Soundwave droned.

“There is no way in Primus... that I am that important... to you. If I were, you... wouldn’t have allowed... me to get so close... to offlining. Even so, it is... more than likely... that I will offline from... energon loss in the next... few cycles if nobody... rescues us.” My vents cycled harshly as I tried to cool my overheating frame.

“Communication: unlikely. Rock cover: too dense.” Soundwave droned.

“Well if… there is no way… for us to get… out of here… at least… help me to… close off some… energon lines.” I gasped, hope fading from my spark at the idea of not being rescued.

Wincing, I tried to push myself up against the wall of stone behind me, so that I could use the faint light from my one undamaged headlight to be able to see as I worked. I slipped back down and nearly crashed into the ground, but Soundwave extended his tentacle-like appendages to help me right myself. Thanks to my many vorns of medical experience, I was not deterred by the sight of my battered leg. I could see straight through to the strut, which was not a good sign. Despite my lack of medical tools, I knew that my best course of action would be to remove the leg and seal the joint at the hip. It would be the simplest way to prevent any small lines from bleeding unnoticed, and would be less intensive than attempting to repair my entire leg.

“Soundwave, are you... at all knowledgeable in... medical procedures?” I asked as smoothly as I could, turning my attention to the silent mech hovering by my side. If he knew anything, it would make the procedure easier on me.

“Affirmative.”

“I need to… remove my leg. Can… you assist me in… pinching energon lines… shut as I request?” Hopefully I would be able to do the rest myself.

“Affirmative.” Soundwave turned to my leg, and waited for me to guide him.

Laserbeak’s POV:

I watched patiently as Soundwave worked with the Autobot medic to remove the damaged leg. Even though the process went smoothly (or so Ratchet had jerkily tried to explain to us after the procedure was finished), it still took several joors to completely detach and seal the leg. I had tried to ignore my own wound, holding still and tuning out the slow drip-drip-drip of energon still leaking from my wing. However, my energon levels had dropped past 20%, and I decided that it was time to get Soundwave’s attention.

Worry-pain-danger. I pinged him through our bond, but he blocked me off to focus on sealing off the disconnected portion of Ratchet’s leg.

Pain-anger-urgency. Soundwave still ignored me.

Carrier. I tried pleading. Still nothing. Soundwave was too involved in his work.

“Soundwave.” My voice was scratchy from disuse, but it was enough to finally get his attention.

Soundwave turned to me, discarding the leg that he had been focused on. I ignored Ratchet as his optics cycled wide at the fact that I could talk. Of course I could talk. I was a minicon, not a drone. Pain-concern-weak, I pinged him again. This time, he seemed to understand and scooped me up in his servos. I whimpered, which made Ratchet seem even more surprised. Strength-love-protection Soundwave pinged me back.

“Laserbeak: injured. Autobot Ratchet: can repair?” Soundwave questioned, turning his gaze back to the Autobot.

“May I?” Ratchet reached out, and after a klik, I realized that he was asking to hold me.

I knew that Ratchet would only help me. If he harmed me, Soundwave would not hesitate to offline him. I looked up at Soundwave. Trust-acceptance-hope I pinged. Concern-reluctance-affirmation he pinged in response, and gently set me into the Autobot’s waiting servos.

“Hello, Laserbeak.” Ratchet gently spoke between wheezing vents, seemingly in awe of the fact that, not only was he holding me, but he had discovered that I was a living, sentient being.

“Hello.” I cautiously chirped back.

“I’m going to... have to touch... your wing to... help you, alright?” Ratchet asked politely, gently petting around my audials.

“I understand.” Despite being taught by the Decepticons that Autobots were evil, I had a feeling that this one could be trusted. Plus, he gave really good scratches.

Soundwave sat aside in the cavern, stiff, and pulsing worry-danger-discomfort very vaguely. His field was reigned in close to his frame. If I had to guess, though, it reeked of anxiety. Soundwave was very careful to always appear stoic and logical, but I knew that he loved me as a carrier would love their offspring. That fact made it very hard for him whenever I was harmed in battle. We both had to appear stoic, but across the bond, he would be silently screaming in fear. This was especially obvious now. Every few kliks, Soundwave would ping me, asking if was alright, if Ratchet was hurting me, if I needed a break. Each time, I replied with relaxation-trust-calm. Ratchet wasn’t hurting me, but rather treating me with some semblance of reverence. I figured that the least I could do was to help Soundwave realize that Ratchet was not the enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come back next week for more! Will Laserbeak be able to bring the two unlikely cavern-mates together? Or will Soundwave snap? Leave suggestions in the comments, or just let me know what you think. It would mean the world to me! That’s it for now, Ironavenger344 out!


	5. Illusion 100

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey, y’all! Thanks for all the kudos! Also, thank you RandomReader for the comment! It made me laugh, and gave me interesting ideas. I really struggled with writing this. I seem to be fighting a small writer’s block. Also, as much as I try to indent my paragraphs, AO3 seems to want to fight it, so I'm sorry. Anyway, have fun reading! I (still) don’t own Transformers.

I was growing concerned for Ratchet. I didn’t want to bother him, but normally he would have checked in already. The only thing keeping me from comm’ing him was the threat of a wrench to the helm of any bot that disturbed Ratchet during his work. The dents were manageable, but uncomfortable as they were healed by self-repair systems. Soon, though, I would be willing to risk the injury to check up on Ratchet.

“Shouldn’t Ratchet be back by now, Optimus?” Rafael asked me.

“Indeed. I am beginning to worry.” My statement caught the attention of the other Autobots and their human charges.

“Anyone willing to comm him?” Arcee asked, hand on her hip.

“Not it!” Bumblebee and Bulkhead spoke at the same time.

“I will do it. I would be deeply troubled if I ignored Ratchet to save myself from a simple dent, only to find that he had been ambushed.” I opened my commlink, pretending not to notice the relieved looks of the rest of my Autobots.

Ratchet, is everything alright?

Static.

Ratchet, come in. 

Still nothing.

Ratchet, I will take no response as a sign of ambush. Please respond if able, old friend.

I vented in frustration as there was still no response.

“Autobots, I am not getting a response from Ratchet. Prepare to roll out."

Bumblebee's POV:

As soon as Optimus told us that Ratchet wasn't responding, I started to worry. I had been trying to convince myself that Ratchet was perhaps too busy helping Starscream and had gotten distracted, or that he was almost done and was just waiting to comm until he had gotten everything packed up. However, Ratchet would never ignore Optimus’s comm, especially not in a situation like this. Something was most definitely wrong.

I paid special attention to everything as I walked out of the groundbridge. There seemed to be no obvious signs of a struggle, but there wasn’t any signs of an injured Starscream either. The air was slightly dustier than the air in Jasper, Nevada, but I put that aside as a random factor for the terrain. Around the bridge, there was a rocky clearing, with trees beyond that. My best guess was that the clearing covered about 8 acres (about 32,374 square meters, for you non-Americans out there). On the other side, was a massive cliff. Nearest to us, the cliff seemed to slope more than the rest of the cliff, making it appear to be more of an incredibly steep hill rather than a cliff.

As I gazed around, something caught my attention. I walked over to the shimmer of blue, and discovered that it was Energon. Whether it belonged to Starscream or Ratchet, I had no idea, but there seemed to be random drips all around the cliff face, and a trail leading off into the woods.

“Hey guys, I think I found something!” I whirred, pointing to one of the drips of energon on the ground.

“It would seem that you have, Bumblebee. The question has arisen, however; is it the energon of Starscream, or Ratchet?”

“I don’t know, but it seems to be leading that way!” Arcee pointed into the woods.

“Perhaps it will lead us to our wayward medic. Let’s go.” Optimus affirmed what I had just been about to suggest.

We all began tracking what we thought would lead us to our friend. If only we had known that, below many feet of dense stone along the cliff, Ratchet was struggling to survive with one of the most dangerous Decepticons ever known.

Soundwave’s POV:

The Autobot had gone into recharge shortly after fixing Laserbeak’s wing. Surprisingly, the limited amount of medical supplies he had on his frame were enough to repair the damage done by the fallen rock. Even though I had been worried that he would hurt Laserbeak, Laserbeak had assured me through the bond that he was safe and comfortable. When the Autobot had finished with Laserbeak, and had turned to me, asking if I needed repair, I had stated the fact that I would be fine. The slight burns from Starscream’s rockets would not be enough to require repair. He had seemed reluctant, but had decided that his self-repair systems would be most effective if he were offline. These events lead to where we were at that moment; Ratchet recharging against the far wall of the cavern, with Laserbeak recharging on top of his chest.

Instead of recharging myself, I was focused on planning an escape. With Ratchet wounded and Laserbeak healing, it would be illogical to expect them to be able to help remove rocks. I had already attempted to comm the Nemesis, and had come to the conclusion that the rock was too dense and mineral-infused to allow my signal to penetrate through. It was also illogical to attempt to use my groundbridging ability, due to the unknown thickness of the rubble, and the energon consumption that would be required to attempt such a feat.

My only viable option was to attempt to dig a path through the rocks. It would be difficult to identify the direction away from the cliffside, since the same rock that was disrupting my comms was also disrupting my internal compass. Logically, we could not be far from the cliffside, and once we located it, we could continue the opposite direction to achieve freedom. Alternatively, if I removed rock in a certain direction for several feet and there was no cliffside, I could infer that I was digging in the correct direction as well.

I wished that there was an easier way, but I could see no logical solution that would be more efficient or effective. As such, I began the grueling task of removing each rock, moving it to another pile, and making a small path to the north.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, another chapter! I still can’t decide whether I would be able to write Megatron well enough, or if I should keep him out of this fic… hmmm. Anyway, I suppose I should say, I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to follow, and leave kudos and a comment. They make me happy! Have a wonderful day, my lovely readers!


	6. Recharge Fluxes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Every time I write a chapter, I feel like I need to start it with an update on my life… and then I delete it all and write something else. All I will say is, I’m starting to really struggle to write this story with barely any input. Despite that, thank you to all the people that gave kudos! It makes me happy when I see a notification for my email, and it is telling me that someone gave kudos. No comments this week, though… :(. Sorry about not updating last week, and this short thing this week. I have been on vacation. Anyway, enough about that; this week’s chapter is brought to you by Procrastination: Ignore AP History Homework Edition. I do not own Transformers (I feel like a broken record repeating that). Enjoy, my dearest readers!

Ratchet’s POV:

I grabbed onto one of the shards of metal sticking from the ground as another bomb shook the metal beneath me. I tried to ignore the screams of pain from the hundreds around me dying, as I ran to the side of a young femme. Hearing her pained cry, I had decided that she was the closest to me, and thus, the quickest to help. What I wasn’t expecting was to see her already faded form lying there in a puddle of her own energon, with an offline sparkling still clutched to her chassis. Its own energon flowed down and mixed with the energon of it’s carrier. There was no time to mourn, I told myself, moving to the next patient. This one, a mature mech. 

I began closing off lines and told myself that I could do this. When I returned my attention to the mech’s face, though, I let out a strangled invent. It was Bumblebee, mangled in my servos. Then it was Optimus, dying from the Cybertronian plague. And after that, it was First Aid. I had failed them all. How could I be so foolish? I looked at my energon-stained servos, cleanser streaming steadily from my optics. What had I done?

My systems screamed as they came online, and I jerked forward with a loud exvent. I panted, my systems alerting me to overheating and stress as I tried to calm down, just barely managed to keep Laserbeak from sliding off of my chassis. I thought I had gotten over the recharge fluxes, I told myself. I tried to ignore the little voice in my processor that reminded me that this wasn’t the first time in the last few solar cycles that I had been awoken by such things.

Soundwave was next to a pile of looser stone, sitting aside a small tunnel. I could barely see the end of it, but when I did, I realized it ended in solid rock. Turning my attention to Soundwave himself, I took note of how exhausted he appeared. His normally still posture was slumped, and his visor was dimmed. Just how long was I offline? it made me wonder.

“Soundwave? What…?” I asked, gesturing carefully to Laserbeak. I would have expected him to dock his cassette the moment I had fixed his wing.

“Laserbeak’s trust: illogical.” His monotone voice sounded strained, despite the lack of tone.

“Why is he still here. You can dock him now, if you want.” I pointed out.

“Laserbeak: tired. Soundwave: working. Ratchet: comfortable.” The slight disgust in his voice indicated that he disagreed with Laserbeak’s assessment, but could not ignore the logic he had provided.

“Soundwave, are you in need of recharge?”

“Soundwave: cannot recharge. Soundwave: uninjured.” he insisted.

“Soundwave, I can see that you are overworked. I understand that our energon supply is short, but if you do not recharge, your systems will be wasting energon trying to keep you online. Surely you know this.” I tried to reason with him.

“Ratchet’s argument: logical. Inquiry: Ratchet able to dig?” Soundwave moved aside of me, carefully settling his lanky frame next to my own energon-coated one.

“If I am cautious of my injuries, I can try. Recharge now.” I carefully picked up Laserbeak, who was still offline, and deposited him on Soundwave’s own chassis.

As soon as they were both settled, I tried to shuffle over to the wall across from the hole Soundwave had dug while I was offline. I ignored the sharp pain in my leg and chassis, and silenced the warnings on my HUD. I also tried to ignore my leg sitting in the dirt and rocks aside of Soundwave, despite the worry that wormed its way into my spark that I may not be able to reattach it back at base. If I got back to base. Although, as I began the painful process of hefting rocks, it was seeming less and less likely.


	7. Never Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, thanks for the kudos from all of you, and thanks to those who left a comment. I am back from vacation, but still have my procrastination to deal with! Also, I think I have decided that I cannot, in fact, write Megatron. Every time I try, he escapes the little cube of logic I try and put him into and runs off in a fit of chaos. He is an interesting character. Anyway, hopefully you enjoy the chapter this week, my lovely readers!

Laserbeak's POV:

I startled awake, confused as to where I was. Most of the time, I recharged docked, so it made no sense as to why I was laying on top of Soundwave’s chassis, rather than being in my rightful place. I remembered the cause, however, as I attempted to stretch out my wings and flinched as I realized that my one wing was still healing. Another thought popped into my head, as well; if I was on Soundwave, then where was Ratchet?

I looked around the small space, my optics immediately catching on the dim blue ones on the other side. Ratchet looked completely exhausted. What really scared me was the dullness in his colors. He looked like an offlined mech walking.

“Ratchet?” my vocalizer was still rough-sounding from the lack of use it had gotten in all my time on the Nemesis.

“Recharge well?” he gasped back.

“Affirmative, thank you. You really should recharge too, Ratchet. You don’t look well.” I gently jumped off of Soundwave’s chassis and walked over to the injured medic.

“Recharge is...elusive. I need… to keep… working on… getting us out.” his systems were running noticeably hotter than usual, and I could hear the wheeze of his systems.

“Ratchet: needs recharge. Injuries: dangerous.” I startled slightly, not noticing that Soundwave had come online. Ratchet looked pretty startled too.

“I just told… Laserbeak that.. recharge is… proving difficult. What didn’t… you get from… that?” Ratchet grumbled.

“Ratchet: in danger. Systems: weak. Recharge: required.” Soundwave pinged me with annoyance-concern-urgency.

“Ratchet, you of all mechs should realize that you need to recharge. Do you not have some sort of tranquilizer? Your systems are overheating.” I tried to reason with the weakened and somewhat delirious medic.

“I do… it’s just…hmph.” Ratchet dragged himself over to where Soundwave was still reclined, and settled.

“Please Ratchet. You know what is right.” My words seemed to spur Ratchet into action, and he produced a needle from subspace with a grimace. I watched as he slipped offline.

Soundwave’s POV:

I had been pulled from recharge when Laserbeak jumped off of my chest, but remained still. Honestly, I had been surprised to hear Ratchet’s voice. My estimate was that the injured medic would be offline long before I onlined again, perhaps even snuffed. In the small space I had sensed the increasing heat that was indicative of some sort of infection or serious damage, and the sheer amount of energon that Ratchet had lost before we had been able to seal everything off was more than could be considered healthy. I hadn’t told Laserbeak of my concern, however. I still had no logical explanation for the forming relationship between him and Ratchet, but I understood that it would crush his spirits if I were to give him such information.

It was a small relief when we convinced Ratchet to rest, but if anyone had asked, I would have defined it as a logical benefit, not a literal relief. However, if I was being honest with myself, I had grown a small amount of respect for the bot. It had impressed me that he could operate on himself, and pushed himself beyond his limits to be able to rejoin his cause.

With Ratchet finally offline, I returned to the hole in the rock that was now significantly deeper than it had been when I had last been online. I began the slow process of moving rocks, occasionally instructing Laserbeak to push aside some of the smaller pebbles out of the way and onto the pile. As I worked, I allowed my processor to wander.

I thought back to the days of Cybertron, and of my old cassettes. Ravage, the eldest, prowling around the building I lived in and preying on various rodents. The twins, Rumble and Frenzy, playing pranks on Ravage and inevitably getting their afts handed to them by the feline. Laserbeak, the one that survived, the young but wise flyer who was just as loyal as Ravage. And, of course, Ratbat, the youngling whom everybot loved and fawned over.

Laserbeak and I had long ago learned how to ignore the painful tears in our sparks from the shattered bonds. Even though it was painful to think about, it had gotten easier with each cycle that passed. In these moments of weakness, though, I was drawn back to the memories and the holes in my spark, holding onto them as not only a painful reminder of the past, but also as a lifeline into the beyond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End Notes:  
> Hey, so this story is developing nicely, but I had a question for you all… any suggestions on how this should end? My thoughts are a few options: death, all three returning to one faction, or going their separate ways. Leave suggestions in the comments. Depending on what gets picked (or if there is nothing in the comments at all) I will decide the story from there. Have a lovely day, y’all!


	8. One Step Closer to Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you guys so much for the input, the love, and the kudos! It made me very happy! It would seem that you guys and gals would rather not see a simple ending like death… I guess you will have to wait and see if I follow your wishes… *evil laughter*. I think I know what I want to do, but I guess I will have to wait and see how this pans out. Enjoy this chapter, and as always, I love y’all!

Optimus’s POV:

The energon trail had started to thin out several solar cycles ago. I had hoped that meant we were getting close to our lost companion, but when the splatters of blue completely disappeared, they took that shimmer of hope with them. Despite the fact that I sent the rest of my team back to base to search in shifts, I myself had stayed on the hunt with the excuse that the Matrix would be able to sense Ratchet. If I was being honest with myself, there was really no proof that my statement would be true. It seemed now that I really was lying to myself; there was no more energon, no Ratchet, no offline frames, and not a single sign from the Matrix. All I had earned was complete and utter exhaustion.

/Optimus to base./ I tried not to let my dejected tone seep through the comm.

/Did you find him?/ Bumblebee answered excitedly, which broke my spark.

/I’m afraid not, Bumblebee. The trail is gone. Please open a bridge back to base./ I pretended not to hear the small whimpered sob at the end of the transmission.

Ratchet’s POV:

I held the greying frame of First Aid, rocking back and forth as a carrier would rock their sleeping sparkling. I begged for him not to go, begged Primus to let me have my favorite apprentice back. The energon that dripped around me was not First Aid’s, I tried to convince myself. It wasn’t working. All I could hear was the screams of the dying around me.

This time when I onlined in a panic, I could barely sit up. My systems were groggy, and the pain was nearly gone. I knew that it was a sign that I had lost too much energon and my frame was shutting down. My processor was hazy and it took me far too long to online my optics, but when I did, I became aware of Laserbeak and Soundwave still slowly moving rocks. Soundwave was struggling with a large boulder, and Laserbeak’s visor caught my optics. He swooped over to my chassis and landed cautiously.

“Are you functioning, Ratchet? We could use some help moving the rocks to clear a path. Soundwave thinks that we are approaching a depth that would allow us to send out a signal for help.” Laserbeak sounded far too excited for the situation.

When I tried to reply, all I got was a grinding noise from my vocaliser and shooting pain. /No more talking for me then, I suppose./ I tried again to sit up, this time making it upright and swaying as my struts attempted to balance me without a leg. /Wait a second/… I had a thought. Picking up the leg next to me, I shuffled towards Soundwave and the hole. I could barely lift the leg myself, but I caught his attention with a tap to the shoulder guard and mimed using the leg like a pickaxe. Soundwave caught on to the idea rather quickly, and took the leg from my servo.

“Ratchet: energon low. Inquiry: require transfusion?” Soundwave gently supported me as I swayed.

Logically, I knew that a transfusion would be necessary to keep my frame functioning at this point. However, I also knew that a transfusion would rob Soundwave of his own energon and make him even weaker and less likely to survive. Apparently my silence was answer enough for Soundwave, and before I could try to protest, he moved me to the wall where I had rested once more. It amazed me that he was still able to move my heavy frame.

“Inquiry: do you have a transfusion kit?” Soundwave accessed my subspace when I opened it and pulled out the kit, which was an odd sensation.

Without instruction, Soundwave began a transfusion line and worked fast and efficiently as to give me some of his remaining energon. If that wasn't surprising enough, the link that he offered me surely was. I accepted his hardline, and lowered my firewalls to allow him to read my energon levels. His presence was softer than I had expected, cautiously avoiding memory files and dulling pain receptors so that I would not be in excruciating pain the moment my energon levels started to rise. He even silently comforted me, and I wondered if this was what Laserbeak felt like when he docked. I sensed a gentle chuckle, and a rolling wave of amusement.

/Soundwave?/ I didn’t know if he would answer.

/Ratchet: desires to know something?/

/You can drop the formality, Soundwave. You are giving me your energon and dwelling in my mind, I think we should at least be on that level of communication. I hoped that he could at least show the level of trust to me that I had shown to him./

/… If you insist. You should offline your unnecessary systems, they are using up the energon I am giving you./

With that encouragement, I let my taxed systems again settle and slipped offline to the amazingly peaceful presence of Soundwave ghosting through my processor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry that I keep cutting these chapters short, guys! I have to fight with my ADHD to get these little chapters out, and make them look sorta good. Also, WHY DON'T THE ITALICS WORK ANYMORE EITHER AO3 COME ON!!! Slashes will have to work for now... Anyway, let me know what you think about this week in a comment, or give me suggestions for the future and I will try to implement them! Have a wonderful weekend, my dearest readers!


	9. Companions at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello again! I saw (I’m pretty sure) one comment from last chapter. Thanks! I wish my real life friends would leave their comments here and not in Hangouts messages, because their comments are usually pretty funny. Anyway, I think you all know the drill by now; I don’t own Transformers, feel free to leave comments and kudos, follow me if it makes you happy, and I appreciate you all!

Chapter 9:

Laserbeak’s POV:

It amazed me how calm and gentle Soundwave was being with Ratchet. I had been with him multiple times when he had caught an Autobot, and every time he had gotten close enough to link up with them, he would rip the things he wanted to know right from their processors. It often involved a lot of shaking and screaming from the Autobot. What I was feeling right at that moment made no sense to me; a wave of /peace-comfort-protection/.

During the last few solar cycles that we had been trapped, Ratchet had proved himself to me by fixing my wing, treating me like a bot rather than a drone, and never once becoming hostile towards myself or Soundwave. Those things alone were enough for me, a cassette who was loved only by my carrier. However, Soundwave was fiercely loyal to Megatron, loved by those who truly appreciated how much work he did, and very protective of his cassettes. He had many more conditions than I did as far as who he would give his respect to. And yet there we were, in a cave on Earth, with Soundwave treating an Autobot as though they were as precious as his lost cassettes.

There was no sort of romantic love that I could sense, but the overwhelming pulses of care and concern made me realize that, had Ratchet been a cassette, he would have just found himself a deck.

Soundwave’s POV:

It was not logical for me to feel this way over an Autobot that I was supposed to be capturing, but it had happened. I knew better than to do what I had done. I had once again allowed my emotions to overcome the logic I held at the forefront of my being, and had found myself a new companion. My processor strained as it fought itself, wondering simultaneously why I had allowed myself to grow close to an Autobot, and at the same time, telling myself that he would help smooth over the loss of most of my cassettes.

I turned my processor towards Ratchet’s, breaking away from my own conflicting emotions and focusing on his. Despite the fact that he had seemed to have a steady, somewhat logical processor while he was online, his offline functions seemed to be getting more and more erratic. I almost immediately recognized it as a recharge flux, and a bad one at that. Subconsciously I pulsed /comfort-joy-support/ to him, over and over, until the flux seemed to be driven away.

I knew that trick from when I had first rescued Ravage. His fluxes originally cut short his recharge cycles and I had only become truly aware of it when he had collapsed from exhaustion onto my desk on the Nemesis. I had taken him to Knockout, who had just stared at me and then thrown some sedatives my way for Ravage, claiming that if I had no time to care for my “drones” that the sedatives would stop them from “squealing at night”. The sedatives had never been used, rather I had learned to help Ravage through his night terrors.

Once again focusing myself, I noted that Ratchet’s processor was rather impressive, from what I could see. As I wove through the faint memories that had yet to be categorized into his long-term storage processor, I began to realize just how much power his processors had in order to be able to withstand the pain he was in, as well as form somewhat coherent observations. It truly was amazing to see how much detail there was. Somewhat reluctantly, I removed myself from Ratchet’s processor to disconnect the energon transfusion line. Our levels were nearly even, and it would be of no use to either of us if I allowed the transfusion to give Ratchet more than necessary.

The line came out as smoothly as it had gone in, and I looped the tube back into it’s stored size in case it became necessary to use it again. I turned to see Laserbeak slowly lifting rocks from the hole that we had been working on for the last several clicks.

/Laserbeak: Return./

Laserbeak immediately stopped his work and hopped over to me, gently climbing my torso and transforming back onto my chassis. As our cables connected, I was nearly overwhelmed by the pulses of /approval-joy-friendship/ that I hadn’t realized that I had been ignoring. My energon began to refill his low levels, and my processor began to sort through his memory files and organize them for him. Despite not being a drone, cassettes often didn’t have the same ability as a minicon or a full mech to sort through the massive amounts of data that they acquired throughout the solar cycle. It felt peaceful to return to such a simple task that had not been done in so long.

/So, boss, what is your plan here?/ Laserbeak asked through our bond.  
/I truly do not know. I will formulate a plan when we escape from this hole in the ground./ I tried to push as much logic into the statement as possible, as though I didn’t already know what would happen.

Ratchet’s POV:

For the first time in several solar cycles, I onlined at my own pace. There was no recharge flux riding along on the back of my processor to haunt me, rather, there was a peace that I had not experienced in many decacycles. Sure, several systems still battled their way to the front of my processor to tell me that I was missing a leg and running on less than optimal fuel, but there was no urgent fear.

It made me sad to think that, when this was over, Soundwave would inevitably return to Megatron. If he decided to come back with me to the Autobots if- no, /when/ we escaped, it would probably end the war. There would be no more death, no more questions as to who I would have to try and save, only foolish injuries caused by roughhousing or sparring. I knew that I should leave those dreams behind. It was impossible to hope that this simple situation would end the war.

I looked around the silent cave. Soundwave sat offline aside of me, with Laserbeak docked on his chassis. Before the last solar cycle, I would have said that he looked menacing. He was much taller than me, and was evidently built to fight. However, he had touched my processor with his own, comforting me and allowing me to recharge without disturbance. It had made me realize that, although being notoriously mute, he could still care for a medic like me. His silent terror had a soft side, even though it was not often shown to others. I doubted that even Megatron had experienced what I had just encountered.

I shook my head and slid over to the leg that I had offered to Soundwave only a solar cycle before. I raised it and began breaking the larger boulders into smaller, more manageable pieces. It was exhausting, but soon I had moved all of the large, looser rocks, and began slamming my leg into the wall of the cavern. I knew that it would cause a lot of damage to the leg itself, but if we didn’t get out of the cave, it would be useless anyway.

I startled when a servo landed on my shoulder cap. Soundwave gestured for me to slide over, and began moving the loose rock out of the way as I hammered through it. I noted that Laserbeak was still docked, but didn’t question the quiet mech. He knew what he was doing. I could only hope that he also knew how to get us out of this seemingly endless pile of rocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that! A longer chapter! Hopefully you all liked reading it as much as I liked writing it. As always, feel free to leave comments of things you liked or suggestions. They make me happy! Also, kudos are always appreciated. Have a wonderful weekend, my lovely readers!


	10. Depression and Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Woohoo, chapter 10! Thanks to everyone who has supported me so far, leaving kudos and comments and following, or even just dropping in to read. I created this as an extension of a school project, and it has bloomed even further than I imagined. I think this story is coming to an end soon, as is summer. However, if you guys have ideas for a new story, please leave them in the comments, or DM me! That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, my lovely readers!

Arcee’s POV:

I was beginning to think that Ratchet had joined Cliff and Tailgate in the Well of Allsparks. It had been weeks since his signal had been picked up, and, although that didn’t mean he had offlined, it was hard to imagine any alternative at this point. The humans didn’t seem as concerned as the rest of the bots, but that was probably because they hadn’t known Ratchet nearly as well as we did. Out of the three, Rafael seemed to be the most upset. He refused to talk to anyone but Bee, and was spending less and less time at base. Jack showed the same intense loyalty that he did to all of the bots, and was not giving up hope until there was proof that Ratchet’s spark was extinguished. Miko was much like Rafael, losing hope and avoiding the other bots. She even seemed to be avoiding Bulk, which concerned and surprised me in equal amounts.

The bots themselves all were mourning in their own ways. Optimus had been one of the hardest hit, spending all of his time in his quarters and rarely showing up for energon. Bee had been just as bad, if not worse. He only showed up for Raf, and only consumed energon when prompted by another bot. His doorwings were never perked up anymore. Bulk had been less effected, but even he had been noticeably less reckless and wild. And as for myself, well… I spent most of my time on top of the base beside Cliffjumper’s grave, contemplating what I could have changed.

If someone had told me a few vorns back that team Prime would have this reaction to Ratchet disappearing, I would probably have scoffed at them and called them a liar. Perhaps Bee would have reacted the same, seeing as Ratchet saved his spark, and Optimus’s reaction made sense too, as he would lose one of his oldest friends. However, the relationship between me and Ratchet was tense at best, and I would have only considered the loss of a medic, not the loss of a friend.

I turned my focus back to the screen where I was supposed to be watching for new energon signatures. Oddly, since Ratchet had disappeared, there had been no Decepticon sightings. We still alternated watches, though. When Megatron figured out that Ratchet was missing, there would undoubtedly be an attack.

I started as an alarm blared through the base. Optimus ambled from his room, looking expectantly at me. I just stood in silence for a moment, staring at what the screen was telling me.

“Arcee, what is it?” Optimus’s voice rumbled over the alert.

“I- Optimus… It’s Ratchet’s signal. He’s come online!”

“How is this possible?” Optimus demanded, rushing towards the screens.

“I don’t know, but it looks like there are already two Cons there. If we don’t hurry, we may lose him.” I stated, noting the other signals that had appeared just after Ratchet’s.

By this point, the rest of the Autobots had assembled, and Optimus roared, “Autobots, roll out!”

Ratchet’s POV:

I jumped as comm chatter blasted through my audials. I was half offline, my remaining energon nearly depleted from digging to the surface. Pushing aside the exhaustion as I had many times before in crowded medbays and active warzones, I crawled back to where Soundwave had collapsed. He was even lower on energon than myself, and had fallen offline shortly after Laserbeak. I rallied my remaining strength and dragged them towards the signal. If I could make contact, then team Prime would be able to find me. When I returned to the highest point with Soundwave and Laserbeak, I began shutting down all systems other than audials and optics. I had to tell them. They couldn’t hurt Soundwave.

Bulkhead’s POV:

When I heard that Ratchet’s signal was online, I felt as though I could jump for joy. I saw Bee especially perk up, doorwings raising for the first time in human weeks. The team gathered by the groundbridge, and Jack opened it. Miko stayed by his side, staring at the flashing signal on the screens along with Raf. Our pedes made the base thunder as we ran into the green vortex of light.

When we exited the bridge, I immediately recognized it as the rendezvous point where Ratchet had been called to meet Starscream what felt like vorns ago. I followed Bee, who was tracking the signal towards the cliffside. Nothing looked different, which was odd. How would Ratchet have gotten here again, and where were the Cons?

“I don’t understand! It says his signal is here, but… underground?” Bee said, pointing right below him.

“Let’s see if I can dig up our missing medic. Bee, step aside.” I transformed my hand into a wrecking ball and began smashing through the rocks.

They seemed to fall away easier than they should have. One punch easily scattered and destroyed several feet of debris. One such hit pushed through into an opening in the rocks, and I immediately saw Ratchet. His optics were dim and his entire frame was covered in dirt and grime. Behind him, I could see purple. The Cons were in there with him? It made no sense. Was it a collapsed entrance to a secret base? I pushed that out of my processor and began more cautiously removing rocks around Ratchet. I called to the rest of the team, and together we slowly unearthed our wayward medic.

Ratchet’s POV:

I knew as soon as the ground began to shake around us that we were going to be rescued. I was hoping that it was the Autobots and not the Decepticons, but either would have been a welcome change from the dingy hole we had inhabited for the last several decacycles. When the final layer of stone fell away, the light seemed to burn my optics. I powered them down even more to close out the light. When I could finally see, my vision was filled with green. /Bulkhead/. The sight of the green wrecker was both a relief and a threat. If he saw Soundwave, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t just offline the Con on sight. I had to protect.

/Bulkhead/. I tried to comm him.  
/Don’t worry Ratchet, we will get you back to base and away from those fraggin’ Cons as soon as we can./ Bulkhead’s comm was as tense as his field. Of course he had seen Soundwave and Laserbeak.  
/Bulkhead. Don’t hurt them. Bring them back with me and give them energon. They… saved me/. I felt the shock ripple through his field as he received my instructions.  
/Are you sure?/ Bulkhead seemed uncertain now.  
/Yes. Please./ I felt myself slipping offline as I sensed the trust and affirmation in his field. We were safe at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s not over yet! Bulk may trust for now, but what about the rest of the Bots? And what have the Cons been doing this whole time? I decided that I am going to try and write Megatron for next week, so that may be a treat or a horror. Who knows? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this week’s chappy! If you did, I would love to see new story suggestions or things you liked in the comments, and kudos and follows are always appreciated. Enjoy your weekends, my lovely readers!


	11. Reflections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, another rushed week, another short chapter. I did in fact attempt Megatron. Oh boy. Well, next week I will be offline on vacation, but I will try my best to upload the next chapter on time. Hopefully you all like the chapter, and I will see all of you lovely readers in the end notes!

Chapter 11:

Megatron’s POV:

It had been decacycles. I had sent Soundwave on a mission to obtain the Autobot medic, in an attempt to gain access to the formula for synthetic energon, and he had disappeared. I could hardly believe that my third in command, my most loyal subject, would become a traitor. It also hardly seemed logical for him to have offlined permanently. And yet, the Vehicon fools could not find his signal. To make matters worse, they couldn’t even find fragging energon. Without that blundering fool Starscream to entertain me, and without Soundwave to guide the fools that were my army, I was beginning to go mad.

“You! Vehicon!” I yelled at the one “monitoring” for energon signals.

“Yes, Lord Megatron?” the vehicon trembled as it turned to me.

“Has there been any sign of Soundwave or our traitorous seeker?” I nearly growled.

The vehicon turned back to the screen, “No, I mean, yes, but no sir…”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YES???” I roared.

“S-soundwave’s signal was online for a few m-moments a few klicks ago, Lord Megatron, but it went offline again-” the vehicon stammered.

“I DON’T CARE IF IT WAS ONLY ONLINE FOR A SINGLE KLICK, YOU FOOL! SEND A TEAM TO THOSE COORDINATES, NOW!” I raged at the vehicon as it turned rapidly back to the control panel and began attempting to contact the rest of the army.

I spun back to where a vehicon cowered and shot it through the spark.  
/Useless drones/.

Arcee’s POV:

I was unsure of my feelings towards bringing Soundwave and his drone back to base. Bulkhead had assured us that it was what Ratchet had demanded, but I feared that it was some sort of telepathic suggestion that Soundwave had forced on him when they were trapped together. I had tried to tell Optimus about my concerns, but he refused to treat Soundwave as anything but a guest. I just had to hope that Ratchet online before Soundwave did.

Bumblebee’s POV:  
I trusted Ratchet. When I had heard what he had told Bulkhead, I knew that he had stayed online to protect what he thought to be a friend. I was hopeful that, if he trusted Soundwave, we would have an ally that would help us win the war. I was also looking forward to meeting him and his symbiont, and maybe hearing them talk. I wondered if their voices sounded like the one Ratchet had given me after Tyger Pax.

Bulkhead’s POV:

I didn’t know what to think. When I had talked to Ratchet, he seemed so /sure/ that Soundwave wasn’t going to harm us. I had seen him though. Missing a leg and covered in haphazard repairs, he looked as though he had gone a round or two with somebot, whether it be Soundwave or the elusive Starscream. When I had looked at Soundwave’s drone, though, I had seen some of what was undoubtedly Ratchet’s repair work. What had happened in that cave?

Optimus’s POV:

Although it was a mystery to me as to what Ratchet had gone through, I trusted what he had told Bulkhead. I wished that I had been the one to see him when he was online, but now I would just have to wait for him to come online on his own. I had asked Arcee to be in charge of giving energon to the three offline mechs, since she had the most medical training of the currently functioning Autobots. I hoped that I wasn’t making a mistake, but the Matrix seemed to be assuring me that everything would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End Notes: Sorry for the shorter chapter this week, y’all. I have a lot of stuff that needs to be done, so I’m writing this less than 24 hours before posting. Thank the Lord for a flexible beta, right? Anyway, I hope you all liked this week’s chapter! Let me know what I could improve or what you liked, as I love reading comments and look forward to all the kudos messages in my email! Have an amazing weekend, my lovely readers!


	12. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, my dearest readers, this chapter will be one of the last. I need to finish this up before school gets too wild. I think it starts in a week or two? Hopefully I can finish by then, since I have been lacking inspiration. Anyway, I adore reviews, and I am looking for some ideas for my next fic (unless you guys don’t think I should write more stories). See y’all in the end notes!

Laserbeak’s POV:

I onlined slowly, feeling a spark-deep exhaustion that was indicative of hard work. Text scrolled across my vision, telling me that I had defragged in my recharge, and that my energon levels were within acceptable parameters. I onlined my optics, only to shutter them quickly at the blinding light that surrounded me. I lowered the sensitivity of my optics and opened them again. It took a few kliks for me to adjust to the light, but when I did, I realized that I wasn’t in the Decepticon base. I caught a glimpse of the blue Autobot femme, slumped against a wall nearby. Her optics were dark, and her systems were quietly humming as she recharged.

On a berth next to me and Soundwave, I could see Ratchet. He looked awful now that I could see him in full light. His frame had been cleaned of the dried energon that had hidden his injuries when we were under the rock. In places, his armor was completely removed, lines underneath temporarily patched until, I assumed, he was able to inspect them himself. In other places, paint nanites were completely starved of energon and his color was grey. Dents covered his entire frame. His leg that had been removed was laying on a separate table, mangled from it’s short lifetime as a pickaxe. However, I was relieved to hear that his vents were more even now, despite the appearance of his frame. Hopefully he would be able to come online soon.

I turned my attention to Soundwave. From what I could see, he was scuffed and dented, but the only real damage was to his arm bracers. They were charred and melted from the rocket that had taken apart the mountain, where it had gotten too close. I knew that he would be fine, now that we were out of the hole.

The femme stirred, and I watched her optics slowly online. They immediately scanned over Soundwave and I, as if she were worried that we would have gone somewhere. Seemingly satisfied that we were still where she had left us, she rose to check Ratchet. Her servos were gentle as she checked his energon and coolant drips and scanned him. She then turned to us, checking Soundwave’s drip and scanning us. Evidently, she wasn’t expecting me to be online, and jerked back with a slight hiss. I sensed her sending a transmission, but I didn’t hack it. Hopefully, if Soundwave would let us, we could join the Autobots in gratitude for Ratchet saving me. If that was the case, I wouldn’t want to betray their trust and privacy.

Arcee’s POV:

I had found Ratchet. His energon signature was coming from a rock formation beside of a cliff, and I rushed to it. Where were the rest of the Autobots when I needed them? I started clawing through the rock, each one moving away easier than the last. Energon stained the rocks, mixed with coolant. Finally, I could see his frame. I muffled a scream at the gaping holes in his chassis. I tried to stop the trickles of energon coming from his frame, but it was too late. As his spark weakened, he turned to me.

“You left me to die…” His voice trailed off, as his spark joined the Well.

How could I have failed so badly?

I onlined slowly, realizing as I did so that it had been a recharge flux. When I looked around, I saw that everything was as it had been before I had slipped into recharge. I stood and went to Ratchet first, to reassure my still-whirling processor that he was still alive. Once I was satisfied, I turned to our Decepticon… guests. My optics widened as I scanned them and realized that the drone was online.

/Optimus! The drone is online. What should I do?/ I hastily commed the Prime.

/They are our guests. Keep an optic on them, but treat them as though they were one of us./ 

I sent an affirmation and then returned to the empty berth that I had slid against the wall. I picked up a datapad laying nearby and began reading. I would wait until one of them spoke up.

Soundwave’s POV:

I onlined to Laserbeak pecking at me across the bond. I noted that my energon levels were nearly within optimal range, and that my burns had been treated with some kind of numbing agent. I continued to ignore Laserbeak’s prods of boredom and took in my surroundings. Ratchet lay aside of me in another berth, and the Autobot Arcee was sitting on another, reading.

/Soundwave! How you feel?/ Laserbeak asked, sending pulses of /worry-care-excitement/.

/I am functional. Report./ I returned /concern-comfort-relief/.

He explained what little he had seen with precise detail, which made me proud. I had trained him well. If only his siblings could have seen him like that. 

/Soundwave, Ratchet saved my life. None of the ‘Cons would have done that for me. If you would allow it… I would like us to join the Autobots./

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I think that there will be 2 more chapters. Let me know what you guys think! I miss reading reviews… Also, thanks to everyone who has been leaving kudos, and supporting this story. If you have suggestions for a new story or a oneshot, let me know in the reviews or DM me. Have an amazing weekend, my lovely readers!


	13. Is It Art or Fanart? The Author Cries, For She Does Not Know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers! I was super busy with a history assignment this week and ran out of time to write a chapter. I intend to post twice next week to make up for it, but until then, I made some art that I wanted to share! Hope you guys like it, and have a lovely weekend!

After much exploration, I have discovered how to use this function to insert art. I hope you like it!


	14. Debrief Snuggles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello one and all, to the last chapter before the start of school! I know I promised a mid-week update… but I hope you will be satisfied with a nice, long chapter! I am working really early in the week on this, and I can’t wait to hear how you guys like it! Thanks to everyone for the kudos, and remember to leave comments and follow! I get lonely… :(. Anyway, enjoy, my lovely readers!

Soundwave’s POV:

I had no idea how to respond to Laserbeak. If I allowed my outwardly hidden emotions to decide, then we would stay with the Autobots. However, if I listened to logic, then we would return to the Decepticons. Emotionally, Ratchet had seen me and Laserbeak as mechs rather than drones, which was more than could be said about those aboard the Nemesis. Logically, though, my presence with the Decepticons was the one thing keeping them from losing the war. Between commanding strikes, surveillance, reconnaissance, and locating energon, Laserbeak and I were an essential part of the Decepticon force. As I was debating a response, Optimus Prime entered the medbay. His massive form loomed over Arcee’s as they quietly conversed in the far corner. I tried my best to not listen in and betray what little trust we seemed to have with the Autobots. At least, neither of us were cuffed onto the berth yet, so I thought it was trust. I had no interest in changing that, as it would cause quite an issue should we decide to escape.

“Soundwave.” Optimus Prime spoke, approaching me.

“Affirmative.” I replied, unsure of his intentions.

“Although we are all inclined to distrust you, our fellow Autobot has vouched for you. I hope you understand that we, although trusting of Ratchet, are slightly cautious and have posted a guard.” Arcee nodded when the Prime spoke of issuing a guard.

“Optimus Prime: Logical.” I completely understood. If there was an Autobot on the Nemesis, they would definitely be followed by many more than just one guard.

“Soundwave, what happened? Why were you buried beneath rock with Ratchet?” Optimus Prime asked, a gentle and genuine curiosity in his field.

I debated whether I should continue in stilted speech, or if I would be better off having Laserbeak report. As soon as that line of thought entered my processor, Laserbeak began sending /want-friends-excitement/ over the bond.

/Laserbeak: would like to report?/ I asked him over the bond, as if I didn’t already know the answer.

/Yes please, Soundwave! I want to speak to the others! You’ll see, they can be trusted! We need to join them!/ Laserbeak was nearly vibrating across the bond with excitement.

I sighed, a glitchy but near-silent whine that could easily be mistaken for the settling of a piston, and said, “Laserbeak: report.”

Laserbeak ejected from my chest and transformed to settle on my chassis, optical slits facing the Prime. Arcee startled a little at the sudden movement, tensing even as she resettled. Laserbeak took a moment to observe the room automatically, categorizing exit strategies and planning even though he had seemingly made up his processor on staying with the Autobots. The habit would definitely take a long time to break after the war ended, if we survived long enough to see it.

Laserbeak’s POV:

I studied the room for a klik, noting the areas that Soundwave had not projected to me. Definitely Autobot medbay. It seemed to be connected to the control room, which was odd, but I had no reason to complain about it. I noticed a squishy poking it’s head around one low wall, spying on us, and the yellow doorwings of the Autobot scout peeking up from another, facing the other direction. If the scout was relaxing, then this base was much smaller than I had anticipated. I returned my focus to the Prime, who had seemingly gotten over my movement and was waiting patiently.

/Should I withhold the information about the reason we got into this situation in the first place?/ I asked over the bond. Something told me that the Prime would be less than appreciative of us attempting to kidnap his CMO.

/Negative. Trust: earned. Lying: counterproductive./ Soundwave replied.

/Understood./

“Soundwave and I have been working on a synthetic energon formula, and we had intel that Ratchet had been working on a similar formula. Additionally, we had been attempting to track and capture the traitor, Starscream. When Soundwave intercepted a distress signal from Starscream, requesting assistance from Ratchet, it was a logical chance to capture both.” I tried to ignore the anger boiling off of the femme’s frame, and the cold glare from the Prime.

“Once we arrived, Soundwave deployed me to observe and I witnessed Starscream shoot Ratchet with one of his missiles. Ratchet went down, but came back up again, this time ready to fight. He transformed out what appeared to be a sniper rifle, but before he could fire, Starscream shot him through the femoral strut. He went down again, some words were exchanged, and by that point I decided that it was time to act. I returned to Soundwave and docked. After information was shared, Soundwave came to the conclusion that, if we wanted to capture a medic that still had a spark, we had to do it fast. Soundwave flew down to where both Starscream and Ratchet were. Ratchet had been moved alongside the cliff, and was offline. Soundwave got in between Ratchet and the traitor, and ejected me with instructions to intimidate. Starscream told Soundwave to ‘take his prize’, and I returned when he began leaving. When Soundwave bent down to assist Ratchet, Starscream returned and fired his second missile at us. The shockwaves seemed to knock down the rock all around us.” I tried to gauge Prime’s somewhat guarded expression, but was having very little luck. Arcee was still extremely infuriated.

“When I came back online, I realized that the rocks had fallen in a way that made a cave around the three of us. Ratchet was still offline, as was Soundwave. I had sustained damage to a wing, which was leaking energon. Soundwave only suffered some burns and dents from the missile. Ratchet was the worst off, as you can see. Once both onlined, Ratchet instructed us as to how to assist him. Soundwave helped Ratchet remove the damaged leg and seal lines, so that Ratchet would be able to stabilize himself. Ratchet then repaired my wing.” I waggled my injured wing at the Prime to draw his attention.

“It took many cycles of digging to find the direction that would get us out. By the time we were getting efficient, Ratchet became critically low on energon. Soundwave gave a transfusion to Ratchet, and then refueled me as well. We nearly exhausted all that was left as we continued to dig. When Soundwave and I finally dropped into emergency stasis, Ratchet was the only one left digging. Anything from then would be just as much speculation on our part as it would be on yours.” I finished.

Arcee seemed torn between wanting to strangle me and Soundwave, or thanking us. Prime was still unreadable, but if I had learned anything from watching the other Decepticons, he was warily grateful. His stance was relaxed, yet his optics were cautious. The squishy was still peeping around the corner from time to time, and each time, it’s oral cavity and optics seemed to be opened a bit wider. It was rather disturbing, but if the Autobots didn’t mind, I wasn’t going to point it out.

Without asking, I decided that I wanted to curl up on Ratchet. I flew lopsidedly over to him and gently resettled some wires so that I could nestle into his plating. Soundwave was pulsing /amusement-caution-trust/ to me as both the Prime and the guard straightened with my sudden move. Although the Prime aborted his movement to intercept, the femme continued over to me, and not-so-conspicuously checked the lines I had moved. She then made an attempt to pick me up, and I hissed static at her.

“Sir?” she was looking between the Prime and myself, anger and confusion in her optics.

“Let him go,” the Prime stated as he moved to leave, “If they had wanted to offline Ratchet, they would have done it a long time ago.”

Optimus’s POV:

Although I would reserve my judgement until Ratchet onlined and could tell me himself, I was fairly confident that Soundwave and Laserbeak were, at least temporarily, on our side. Laserbeak was surprisingly honest with me, even sharing things that had the potential to make me lash out, such as their intentions to kidnap Ratchet. I was also surprised by Arcee’s reaction. She too seemed more… comfortable with the two Decepticons now that she understood what had happened, getting nearer to Laserbeak than she had ever willingly gone before. Now I had to tell the others.

I walked over to the recreation area where Bumblebee was watching Rafael and Miko play their racing game. Jack was sitting on the sofa as well, playing a game on his phone. Bulkhead was watching the monitors. I called them over, and recounted what Laserbeak had shared.

“Whoa, the ‘Con can talk?” Bulkhead asked.

“Indeed. For the time being, I suggest that we address them by their proper designations. It would be rude of us to disrespect our guests who may very well have helped save Ratchet’s spark.” I replied, feeling the Matrix and my spark whirl at the hope that Soundwave and Laserbeak may reconsider their alignment.

“Is Ratchet doing okay?” The smallest human approached the edge of the landing and looked directly into my optics.

“He is recovering. I am unsure of when he will online, but I hope that it will be soon. I would like to hear his side of the story.” I said.

I was confused by Miko’s silence. The young human exploded in questions whenever she met a new Cybertronian, and I had thought for sure that she would have been asking such questions now. A little voice in my processor suggested that she had already been listening in, and had gotten the answers she wanted for the moment. I turned to Bumblebee, who had not said anything yet either. He seemed to be processing, his optics dimmed and his frame frozen. I decided that it would be best to leave him alone.

“If any of you have any questions, please bring them to me rather than our guests. I do not wish to disturb them so soon after their rescue.” I concluded, and walked back to my quarters. Relief flowed through my frame at the knowledge that everything seemed to be going okay.

Miko’s POV:

I half-listened to Op’s speech about the stuff that I had already heard while peeking around the corner to watch the newbies. As soon as he was finished, I returned to my peeking spot, raising my phone and taking a picture of the one called Laserbeak laying on Ratchet’s chest. It was just too cute! I recognized Soundwave from when the ‘Cons had hacked the satellites and he had locked them into position. Now, connected to wires and laying on a table, he didn’t look nearly as fearsome.

I spotted Arcee lounging on a berth, occasionally sneaking a glance over at the others. She seemed to be tightly wound. I had no doubt that she and Jack would be spending the afternoon after her watch racing down the highways to get rid of her excess energy. I turned back to the common area and ran over to Bulk. Why was he reading rather than paying attention to me?

“BULK! Can we go offroading? Pleeeeease?” I put a little whine in my voice. The base was just so boring!

“Fine.” Bulk subspaced the tablet he was reading and transformed, opening his door to let me in.

“Woohoo!” I hollered as we rocketed down the tunnel and out into the sunlight.

Arcee’s POV:

The machines hooked up to Soundwave beeped to tell me that his energon levels were fully restored. I stretched, and took my time getting to my pedes to approach the ‘Con. I was still wary of him, but he hadn’t done anything to harm us yet. I settled for just wanting to get him well enough to get out of our base.

“Soundwave, you are no longer in need of an energon drip, so I’m going to remove it.” I warned him, before turning off the machine and disconnecting him.

“Affirmative,” Soundwave hesitated, then added, “Thank you.”

I startled slightly. Soundwave, thanking me? It was nearly impossible to process. Instead, I continued to the storage area and thrust the machine into the darkness, leaving it for me to clean and put away later. When I turned back to Soundwave, he was sitting upright, visor scanning the room. I noticed the areas where organic dirt and mud were still crusted onto his plating, but he didn’t seem to care, instead deciding to stare at Laserbeak. I turned my attention there as well, and had to fight the urge to think that it was sort of cute to see Ratchet laying with the small symbiont on his chassis. Nonetheless, my spark won out and I took a picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there’s a longer (and perhaps fluffier?) chapter for y’all! If you guys enjoyed this week’s chapter, remember to leave kudos, comment, and review. I’m really lonely! Also, I’m still accepting ideas for another story, or a oneshot, so feel free to DM me your ideas or put them in the comments! Have an amazing weekend, my lovely readers!


	15. The Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whoa! More than one comment in a week? Y’all are awesome! Thank you! In celebration, I will try and make another longer chapter. School is started now, and I am going to have less time to work, but I am committed to finishing this story. I also have an idea for a oneshot, but I am still taking requests in the comments or in my DMs. Anyway, I guess I will respond to my comments, and then get my lazy butt on the path to writing this chapter!
> 
> NottheBankofAmerica: I wasn’t quite sure if I did well writing Megatron last time, so I have sort of been avoiding it. However, I will try my best to write some more of his POV this week, just for you!
> 
> Quill18: He is indeed. I will be attempting to draw this scene later, but it may be a while!
> 
> On to the chappy!

Megatron’s POV:

I stood atop the cliff, watching the vehicons dig through the remainder of the rubble. It was clear that Soundwave was no longer there, but they had discovered a cavern that was coated in energon. Dried energon. I scowled as one of the vehicons tripped on a rock and fell, knocking over his partner. Knockout was watching them work, bemoaning his fraggin’ paint job. Some orns, I wanted to just strip his paint and leave him plain gunmetal grey. It would serve him right, the slagger.

A vehicon flew up beside me and transformed, landing clumsily before straightening in attention. I let it stand there for a moment before turning to it disinterestedly.

“What do you want?” I growled, watching it’s plating tremble.

“We- we have cleared the rubble and- it appears that there were- were-” The vehicon stammered.

“THERE WERE WHAT?” I yelled, “STOP STUTTERING, YOU FOOL!”

“There were two mecha down there in the cave, sir.” The vehicon seemingly collected itself just long enough to vocalize, before it returned to it’s pathetic shaking.

“And have you figured out WHO the other mech was?” I snarled at it impatiently.

“Knockout is- is analyzing the energon, sir. We th-think it was the Autobot medic.”

“The medic… hmmm. I suppose I must speak to Knockout myself. Return to work!” I shoved the vehicon off the cliff where it plummeted toward the ground, barely transforming in time to avoid becoming spare parts.

I leapt from the edge, gracefully transforming as smoothly as my war-scarred frame would allow. I flew over the site, watching the vehicons below. I transformed back into mech form and landed beside Knockout, smirking as the dust blew all over his no-longer-shiny frame. He looked at the dust in fury, but it dissipated as soon as he saw me.

“Lord Megatron.” He dipped his helm, before returning to the analysis running through his helm. His optics dimmed a little.

“Have you discovered the owner of the energon found in the cave?” I clenched my servos at my sides. Things were getting harder to tolerate without Starscream around to beat into submission.

“It would seem that the energon is that of Soundwave’s /pet/, Laserbeak, and the Autobot medic, Ratchet.” Knockout practically spat.

“Good work. Return to the Nemesis. I must find our wayward officer.” With that, I transformed once again, blasting the cocky medic with more dirt.

I flew over the vehicons as they began to gather their troops and slowly beam back up to the Nemesis. Knockout had shoved his way onto the first lift and was rapidly trying to wipe away the mud and dirt that had gotten stuck between plating. I rolled my optics. /Unicron forbid that I ever become that vain/. I returned my attention to flying. Perhaps some time away from my infuriating and idiotic crew would give me some ideas about what had happened to my most loyal Decepticon.

Ratchet’s POV:

I became aware as my systems slowly onlined. The first, most obvious thing that I noticed was that I was no longer in pain. The second was that I had been partially repaired. Without a second thought, I denied my frame’s request to online my optics and audials, opting to go through my systems first. I noted that my energon levels were all back into the healthy range, and the coolant that had been trapped in my vents for so long had been flushed. All of the small leaks that I had been unable to reach in the cave were sealed, some even healed over by self repair. My frame was still pinging me about the imbalance of my systems, since I was missing a leg. I hoped that it hadn’t been left in that Primus-forsaken hole.

Satisfied that my systems were operational, I slowly onlined my audials and my optics, feeling tension that I hadn’t even noticed slip away as the dull hum and colors of the Autobot medbay came into focus. There was an insistent beeping to the side of my helm that I recognized as a spark monitor, which only got more annoying when I tried to silence it and failed. The wires surrounding me were prohibiting movement, and I quickly became aware of a weight on my chassis. I searched through my databanks, but I could come up with nothing that would be placed there. Curious, I tried to take a peek. However, my helm felt like it was, as the humans said, “made of lead”, and I could barely see a tinge of deep indigo before my energy was expended and it dropped back to the berth.

As I did so, I caught a glimpse of a matching purple on the berth beside me and did a double take as I recognized the mech as Soundwave. His visor was off and he looked completely relaxed. If I had to guess, he was recharging. Suddenly, the weight on my chassis made sense; Laserbeak. I faintly smiled. We had all made it out safely. Thank Primus.

“Ratchet!” I startled violently as Bumblebee skidded into the medbay, the others tailing him closely.

“I didn’t mean to leave you alone in here! I’m so sorry!” Arcee cried out, running to my side and finally silencing the monitor. I felt Laserbeak begin to stir, and slowly covered his frame with my servo. He settled.

“Would you keep it down? They’re recharging.” I hissed. There was a group of quiet apologies.

“How do you feel?” Arcee switched into her concerned mode, flittering around and checking things just for the sake of checking things.

“I’m not in pain, which is good.” My voice seemed to sound even more tired than it had before.

“We are glad to see you online, old friend. We were very concerned.” Optimus came up beside me and placed his massive servo atop my own.

I turned to Arcee, who I had realized was filling in as medic while I was trapped, and asked, “Have they onlined yet since we’ve been here?”

She understood, and responded with a nod.

“Old friend, if you have the energy to share what happened while you were gone, we would be greatly appreciative.” Optimus tried to gently start the conversation.

“If Soundwave and Laserbeak were online before me, then I have no doubt that they already told you the story. I’m sure you questioned them,” I stared into Optimus’s optics, “and I trust what they said.”

“But Ratchet-” Bulkhead tried to interject.

“No ‘buts’ about it. If you don’t trust them, that’s your problem. Now, since I know you won’t leave me alone unless I at least hear what I’m defending, why don’t you tell me what they said.” I returned to watching Soundwave.

As the group collectively shared what they had heard, I only interjected once or twice about what I had been doing, both times being when Soundwave and Laserbeak had been in recharge. It seemed to surprise them that Laserbeak had been so honest. After the time I had spent in the cave with them, I realized that they were much more than just bots defined by their insignia. They may have been quiet, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. They were mecha, just like myself. I shared this revelation with the other Autobots.

“Old friend, I fear that we may have misjudged our guests. I must however ask one more question; do you believe that this encounter may influence their allegiance?” Optimus gently asked, squeezing my servo carefully.

I noticed Soundwave’s visor online, but answered anyway, “Optimus, you know as well as I do that Soundwave is fiercely loyal to Megatron. I also know that Laserbeak is loyal to Soundwave. I could not assure you that this event would change that, but I do have hopes that they both would reconsider their position in this war.”

“Affirmative.” Soundwave spoke up, and the rest of the Autobots whirled around to look at him, some in alarm and others just startled, but all clearly curious.

Soundwave’s POV:

I had processed Laserbeak’s request fully while in recharge, and made my decision. There were obvious disadvantages to both choices, as well as advantages. If we were to stay with the Decepticons, Laserbeak would constantly be worried that we had made the wrong choice. Every time we went into battle, we would have to harm a mecha that had helped us. Additionally, we would go back to being treated as drones rather than actual mechs. However, the Decepticons were far more rich in resources than the Autobots, as I had observed during the time of our stay. Also, I was considered an officer aboard the Nemesis, and had higher status there than I would as an Autobot.

If we were to stay with the Autobots, we would be constantly searching for energon until I could get our stockpiles up. I would have to prove myself to the still-wary Autobots. We would also be labelled as traitors by Megatron, and would inevitably be targets. Positively, we would be treated as true processing mechs, and would have the chance to make friends, which was something that we had not done since before the war. We could also stay with Ratchet, which I was sure Laserbeak would appreciate.

The hardest part about the choice had been the inevitable power balance. For the last several millennia, those who had scientific and technological knowledge had either fled, hidden, or been offlined. Only a few remained, and even less of those number were a part of a faction. I was a main part of the Decepticon task force, and if I decided to join the Autobots, the Decepticons would be left at a loss. None of the vehicons had the training to be able to find energon or trace signals like I had, and the armada would rapidly run out of energon and be forced to either surrender or die for their cause.

The bottom line was that, should I join the Autobots, the Decepticons would lose the war. And I was ready for Cybertron to live again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it folks. I ran out of time to write this, so I think I will extend the end into next week. So one more chapter? I could have ended here, but I think you guys would like to see how this ends up. Also, I have a final trick up my sleeve. As always, I would love to hear from you guys! Comment, follow, leave a kudos! I’m still looking for oneshot requests, too, so don’t be shy! Have a lovely weekend (and Labor Day to those of you in the US), my dearest readers!


	16. The Prodigal Son

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, I have been dragging it out long enough, and I think you guys deserve an ending. So, here it is! I’ve loved writing this story from the very beginning, and I adore every single one of you who has stuck around for so long! I will miss this, and all of you. Anyway, I hope you guys don’t mind a time skip about halfway through, but I have something to bring this fic to the ending I was hoping for. That said, enjoy, and I will see y’all at the end of the fic!

Megatron’s POV:

I had spent several Earth hours flying with only the disgusting idea to contact Optimus Prime about my missing officer. Obviously, the Autobot medic had been there too, so the Autobots had been involved in the disappearance somehow. I despised having to contact the Autobots, but I could not send in Laserbeak for obvious reasons.

I landed on the Nemesis with a growl, watching the guards shuffle back in poorly concealed terror. Ignoring them, I entered into the ship, going directly to the helm. My pedes clanked on the dark floor, scattering various drones along my path. By the time I made it to my destination, I was fuming at the incompetence of the vehicons, having seen several topple over and run into walls attempting to get away. I yelled at the one standing cluelessly by the communications hub to get in contact with the Autobots.

I quickly got tired of watching the drone struggle and demanded that another fill his position, shooting the original through the chassis as it went to leave. It still wasn’t as refreshing as arguing with Starscream to put him in his place, but it certainly still felt good. The second vehicon seemed much more knowledgeable than the first, and managed to get a call through to the Autobot base. I was greeted by the faceplates of my traitorous old friend; Optimus Prime.

Ratchet’s POV:

It had only been a few klicks since Soundwave had declared that he wished to switch sides. I was still too fraggin’ weak to sit up and remove his insignia, but he didn’t seem to mind. Laserbeak was still resting on my chassis, but I didn’t mind. He was pretending to be offline, but I had felt him shift during the conversation, and knew that he was awake. His field was also giving him away, pulsing his joy about being allowed to join our side. I turned my helm to Soundwave, while weakly petting Laserbeak.

“So, what do you plan to tell Megatron?” I asked, knowing that his actions made him a traitor.

“Soundwave: unsure. Mega-” Soundwave started in his monotone speech.

“Soundwave, please. Everyone is in the other room. You know how much it bothers me when you speak like that.” I cut in, hoping to get him to open up.

“I… It is hard to get past the oath of silence I took all those vorns ago. Back then, Megaton had been so strong and honest with his army, with me. Over time, he… changed. He became more dangerous, threatened the other mecha in his army. The Megatron from before would have been open to us changing our ways. Now, I fear that he will offline me and Laserbeak without a second thought. I know that we must inform him, and I would like to offer the chance to change to the other Decepticons. Unfortunately, if I were to tell him on the battlefield, I have to consider that he will likely just take us out of the equation entirely.” Soundwave spoke, frame tensing and vents stalling for a moment.

“Oh Soundwave…” Laserbeak rose and crookedly flew back over to his carrier, and immediately docked.

“Soundwave, I can’t say that I can be there with you, and you know that. But you better believe me when I say that I support you, and trust your decision. Besides, you wouldn’t have to go onto the field, necessarily. I’m sure Optimus would let you decide what you feel comfortable doing.” I tried to reassure him, wishing once again that I could get up and comfort him.

Before I could say anything else, the base’s alarm system went off to alert us of an incoming transmission. Soundwave, not knowing this, froze again. I reassured him that it was nothing serious. Maybe it was another Autobot coming to Earth. Or, more likely, it was Megatron trying to find his ex-third in command. I didn’t tell Soundwave that.

Optimus’s POV:

When the base alarms went off, I had to force myself to stop watching the gentle display between the inhabitants of the medbay. Any uncertainty I had harbored was gone, fully satisfied that the three mecha were safe with each other. I silenced the alarm, and turned on the screen.

“Prime… you and I both know this isn’t a social call, so I’ll get right to the point. WHERE IS MY THIRD IN COMMAND?!” Megatron roared, sending a few vehicons behind him stumbling in surprise.

I didn’t know how to answer. Thankfully, I didn’t have to. Soundwave appeared behind me, holding himself upright as though he wasn’t just finishing healing from his ordeal. Megatron’s jaw dropped slightly, and I had to hide a smirk.

“SOUNDWAVE!” Megatron collected himself, “RETURN TO ME AT ONCE.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Soundwave replied with a quiet, quakey “No.”  
“Soundwave. If you do not return to the Nemesis at once, you will be labeled a traitor. I will KILL you and your stupid drone. Are you SURE that you want to defy me?” Megatron’s voice was quiet and full of anger.

I noticed behind us that the rest of the Autobots had gathered, minus Ratchet. I would have to fill him in later. And, despite how hard this was for Soundwave, I doubted that any of my Autobots would have the bearings to question his allegiance after what I knew was about to happen.

“Megatron. I said NO.” Soundwave stated firmly, surprising most of the Autobots by using normal speech patterns.

“I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS, TRAITOR! RETURN AT ONCE!” Megatron screamed, his faceplates contorted with anger.

“I will not. Also, I believe it is a proper time for me to do this. Megatron, I break my vow of silence.” Soundwave knelt next to me, “Prime, may I?”

My spark warmed, “Of course.”

“I pledge my undying service to my Prime and the Autobot cause. I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of galactic peace, even if I must give up my life. I will defend the weak and helpless. And remove any threats from the planet that which we protect. Til All Are One.” Soundwave spoke confidently.

“Til All Are One.” The rest of the baffled Autobots as well as myself spoke.

“Unfortunately, we cannot brand you at the moment due to the circumstances. However, I welcome you, Autobot Soundwave.” I finished the official portion of the ceremony, and beckoned Soundwave to rise.

“THE NEXT TIME I LAY OPTICS ON YOU, TRAITOR, YOUR SPARK WILL BE DYING IN MY SERVOS!” Megatron yelled, screaming and cutting the transmission.

I turned to Soundwave, a gentle smile on my faceplates. This event may have hurt my Autobot family, but the result was more than worth the pain of waiting. Now that it was all over, the only thing I wished was the Ratchet had been there to see it.

Ratchet’s POV:

As Optimus shared with me the memory files of what had happened, I couldn’t help but feel immense pride in myself, Soundwave, and Laserbeak. Although I was disappointed that I could not be there myself during Soundwave’s initiation, I had gotten to see Laserbeak’s. I had been helped to sit up by Optimus, and had been allowed to rebrand both carrier and symbiont.

I could tell that Soundwave was terrified, as his field was drawn tightly to him and his frame was tense. I wanted so badly to give him a hug. I wasn’t a physical mech by any stretch of the imagination, preferring a good talking to over a physical expression of care. However, something about sharing personal space with the mechs over a long period of time had made me more comfortable expressing this way to him.

“Soundwave.” I caught the newest Autobot’s attention, and waved him over.

“Yes, Ratch- oof!” Soundwave grunted as I pulled him into a hug. I was cautious of the docked Laserbeak, but hugged Soundwave until I felt him relax.

“Til All Are One.” I whispered into his audials with a smile, and he completely surrendered to my embrace.

TIME SKIP: 5 EARTH YEARS

Ratchet’s POV:

Over the vorns since Soundwave had joined us, the war had begun to turn in our favor. Energon stockpiles became the property of the Autobots before the Decepticons even had a clue where the source was, and the few times that they tried to interfere, they had been so low on energon that they had stood no chance at stopping us. Several vehicons that had been able to get away had joined the Autobots, as well as Knock Out, and a couple other mecha. Eventually, Megatron had been forced to surrender or starve.

Soundwave had been right, his decision would end the war. Now, with refugees and Autobots in hiding coming to Cybertron to help rebuild, our race was beginning to feel right again. Many bots had still not shown, which was worrying, but slowly we were gathering again. The humans had been sad to see us go, and I knew that I would miss them too. Or, I would miss Rafael and Jack. Miko still had the ability to fry my audials from time to time, but I had grown to appreciate her quirks as well. They had all been impressed when we had brought them to Cybertron, but knew that they couldn’t live in a space suit forever. I had promised to bring them back when construction was complete in Iacon, even though it was probably going to take longer than their lifespan.

I sat in my habsuit, which was located within the first building we had reconstructed. For the time being, all of the Cybertronians were staying together. Once Iacon was rebuilt, then each bot would be able to decide where to build next. I knew that I would stay in Iacon, and Soundwave had agreed for the time being. We were next door to each other in the officers wing, Soundwave having been put into the position of communications officer. However, he now oversaw the building of Iacon. I was still the CMO, but I also monitored the channels to welcome incoming mecha and give them instruction on where to land.

I turned my attention back to my comms, waiting for the report that someone had gotten themselves stuck in a vent, or pranked again. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were back on-world, and were intent on causing as much disruption as possible. Instead, I was surprised by a familiar comm signature.

“Ratchet?” The soft, joyous voice asked.

I exvented shakily, and, coolant tear running from my optic replied, “First Aid. Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now. Nobody has given me any ideas yet, so send ‘em my way. I know you guys have them! I intend to upload one more time, with my final fanart for this story. Thanks to all of you who have been here since the beginning! This has been a wild ride, and one I would definitely attempt again. Anyway, the oath Soundwave took was written by Spiritstrike91, so go check them out on DeviantArt! And, for the final time with a chapter… have a lovely weekend, my dearest readers!


	17. Debrief Snuggles Fanart, and a Goodbye

Well, I guess this is it. The end of this story. Thank you all for reading this fic, and for leaving all of the kudos and comments. Keep it up! I will keep answering comments, and still love to see people leaving kudos. Anyway, goodbye for now, all of my lovely readers, and enjoy my final fanart!


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